The Helmand blog is run by PJHQ and the team from UK Forces Media Ops. The team is located in Northwood in the UK and in Helmand at Camp Bastion and the Task Force Headquarters and works to support the coalition forces together with the other government departments such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.
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Holly and other emergency teams brave Taliban fire to accompany our soldiers on the battlefield.

Gary, 48, said: “Combat medics go on the front line and make quick decisions on things like amputations.

“What they do and the bravery that goes with it is exceptional. It’s above and beyond the call of duty.”

Freddie, 31 – on crutches after an August knee op – added: “I’ve seen things over the past few days I’ve never seen before. It will live with me for ever.

“You see news reports, but when you see it first hand you realise what a great job they’re doing.”

She gave Gary and Freddie an insight into the dangers as she explained how she was once pinned down by Taliban fire for 26 hours.

Holly, of Watford, said: “They were firing off rocket-propelled grenades and setting off IEDs (improvised explosive devices). One guy lost a leg and others had blast injuries, gunshot wounds, heat injuries and broken legs and I was having to treat them while being shot at.

“I remember lying on the desert floor and a bullet went past my ear. I thought I was going to die.”

Gary and Ashes hero Freddie had a glimpse of the war zone’s perils when they were caught up in a Taliban attack. They dived for cover alongside servicemen and women at nearby Kandahar air base after an alarm warned of an imminent rocket hit. Thankfully, an all-clear was sounded 30 seconds later.